Part 2? DOn't you mean Part 2,000,000?

It's pretty amazing to me to watch the right wing blogosphere acting exactly like the left wing blogosphere acted -- except that the righties are trying to inflate the numbers by a factor of 30 or so. Not even the craziest left wingers went for that kind of Big Lie.

re: #2 Charles

It's pretty amazing to me to watch the right wing blogosphere acting exactly like the left wing blogosphere acted -- except that the righties are trying to inflate the numbers by a factor of 30 or so. Not even the craziest left wingers went for that kind of Big Lie.

If yer gonna lie, lie big; it don't cost no more, and ya can only lose yer integrity once.

re: #2 Charles

It's pretty amazing to me to watch the right wing blogosphere acting exactly like the left wing blogosphere acted -- except that the righties are trying to inflate the numbers by a factor of 30 or so. Not even the craziest left wingers went for that kind of Big Lie.

That's because the lefties have learned that the lies need to be at least somewhat plausible. Apparently the righties are so stupid they don't even realize that.

re: #3 Guanxi88

If yer gonna lie, lie big; it don't cost no more, and ya can only lose yer integrity once.

"Grab a brew. Don't cost nothin'. "
-Bluto

Of course, the Metro figures may be flawed in this case, for special reasons.

Based on the increase in ridership over a normal September Saturday, the September 12 march was 80% of the size of the September 24, 2005 one, suggesting there were at least 80,000 people and possible as many as 120,000.

Let's be extra fair and add 50% to those total numbers to account for all the flyover people who were scared to ride the Metro with black kids, or who came on busses, or drove themselves, or walked (there were a lot of lean-and-mean looking hiker types at the party, weren't there?), or rode their horses or Hummers directly to the rally, like real men.

That would give us 180,000 attendees.

Still not quite up to what the wingbats are claiming, but I'm trying to be generous.

Billlions and Billlions...

re: #2 Charles

It's pretty amazing to me to watch the right wing blogosphere acting exactly like the left wing blogosphere acted -- except that the righties are trying to inflate the numbers by a factor of 30 or so. Not even the craziest left wingers went for that kind of Big Lie.

Nice touch, capitalizing the words "Big Lie".
/

re: #6 Cato the Elder

Still not quite up to what the wingbats are claiming, but I'm trying to be generous.

This is no time to delve into unchartered territory!

//

And don't forget THESE JOKERS.

They're at EVERY rally!

All warfare is based on deception.

Anything under a trillion doesn't even hit Obama's radar.
/

If there were millions, I'd expect these numbers to be higher. That's just logic.

Pretty cool analysis.

re: #10 Ben Hur

heh.

re: #13 Sharmuta

If there were millions, I'd expect these numbers to be higher. That's just logic.

There you go again, demanding proof of reassuring stories these folk like to tell themselves.

Why does it smell so flouncy in here?

re: #13 Sharmuta

If there were millions, I'd expect these numbers to be higher. That's just logic.

Downdinged as a protest of your mindless lockstep downdinging habit.

They hired the same team of counters as those who did the Iraqi civilian death count.

re: #17 Charles

Why does it smell so flouncy in here?

Has someone flounced?

re: #18 Spare O'Lake

Downding for your gross assumptions.

The only heartening thing about this is that there were fewer psychotic crazies willing to show up than claimed.

re: #3 Guanxi88
And let's not forget...
"First liar don't stand a change"!

re: #20 Dianna

Has someone flounced?

sorry...I had Taco Bell for lunch...

I saw "ALL" the footage!!!
It's easily a...shit load less than "Gobs and Gobs!!
///

re: #22 LudwigVanQuixote

I was busy that weekend...sorry...

Shouldn't that be 'Part Cinq '?

re: #20 Dianna

Has someone flounced?

Not yet, but this topic is like troll chum.

re: #28 Danny

Not yet, but this topic is like troll chum.

Oh. OK. I thought I'd missed something.

re: #29 Dianna

Nah, previews still running. Here, have some popcorn.

re: #17 Charles

Why does it smell so flouncy in here?

Could be wafting over from the link to Blair. Spiny Norman is doing a remote flounce over there.

It's all very confusing. I live in Falls Church and work in D.C., and the crowds were pretty big by relative standards. I'd at least go over 100,000. However, given the percentage of people apparently threatening armed revolt if ignored, I'm not sure the "we had tons more than you think" p*ssing contest is really something to be proud of even if the higher numbers are right.

I'm doubly dubious of relying on Metro for accurate ridership details, let alone using those as a basis for anything. Metro's stupefying operational incompetence serves as a natural brake on any sort of ridership growth, since you can only cram so many people onto unairconditioned trains with at least 1 car locked and empty that are running 25-minute headways and overshooting station platforms before people just say screw it and head back home to get on with their lives. God, Metro, I hate you so much.

So..much.

re: #28 Danny

And who knows why? It's over and done with. I don't understand the froth. It was what it was, and no figure, accurate or grossly inflated, is going to change one mind on Capitol Hill.

re: #31 wrenchwench

Spiny Norman is doing a remote flounce over there.

Dinsdale!

re: #21 Sharmuta

Downding for your gross assumptions.

Updinged the previous downding because I made my point and I can't help liking you anyways.

re: #34 Guanxi88

Dinsdale!

Give me a meatball and I'll tell you the secret plans...

re: #32 Diamond Bullet

It's all very confusing. I live in Falls Church and work in D.C., and the crowds were pretty big by relative standards. I'd at least go over 100,000. However, given the percentage of people apparently threatening armed revolt if ignored, I'm not sure the "we had tons more than you think" p*ssing contest is really something to be proud of even if the higher numbers are right.

I'm doubly dubious of relying on Metro for accurate ridership details, let alone using those as a basis for anything. Metro's stupefying operational incompetence serves as a natural brake on any sort of ridership growth, since you can only cram so many people onto unairconditioned trains with at least 1 car locked and empty that are running 25-minute headways and overshooting station platforms before people just say screw it and head back home to get on with their lives. God, Metro, I hate you so much.

So..much.

So, I'm guessing your nic is not about the D.C. Metro, then? ;)

re: #33 tradewind

Frustration, I guess.

re: #36 LudwigVanQuixote

Give me a meatball and I'll tell you the secret plans...

Mr. Lambert was quite methodical in his piece- like I would expect from a scientist. He takes out the two extremes, like we would do with other results, and that leaves us a much better data set to compare and contrast. There's just no justification for 1-2 million people at the rally claim. Corroborating numbers aren't there, period.

re: #35 Spare O'Lake

I'm not amused.

re: #28 Danny

Not yet, but this topic is like troll chum.

And the next flouncer is...
Chum troll, please...

for comparison, here's some of January

January 23, 2009 - Rail ridership: 765,281 Bus ridership: 470,733
January 22, 2009 - Rail ridership: 824,182 Bus ridership: 470,733
January 21, 2009 - Rail ridership: 784,716 Bus ridership: 470,733
January 20, 2009 - Rail ridership: 1,120,000 Bus ridership: 423,000
January 19, 2009 - Rail ridership: 866,681 Bus ridership: TBD
January 18, 2009 - Rail ridership: 616,324 Bus ridership: 152,108
January 17, 2009 - Rail ridership: 382,300 Bus ridership: 236,347

To all the would-be flouncers:

Bob Dylan -If You Gotta Go, Go Now (or else you've got to stay all night)

re: #39 LudwigVanQuixote

[Video]

re: #18 Spare O'Lake

(you're going to detention, no use in trying to talk your way out).
:)

re: #44 Bloodnok

To all the would-be flouncers:

Bob Dylan -If You Gotta Go, Go Now (or else you've got to stay all night)

I've actually used that line on women. It works. Sometimes.

re: #41 Sharmuta

I'm not amused.

Fakin' it?

re: #6 Cato the Elder

Of course, the Metro figures may be flawed in this case, for special reasons.

Let's be extra fair and add 50% to those total numbers to account for all the flyover people who were scared to ride the Metro with black kids, or who came on busses, or drove themselves, or walked (there were a lot of lean-and-mean looking hiker types at the party, weren't there?), or rode their horses or Hummers directly to the rally, like real men.

That would give us 180,000 attendees.

Still not quite up to what the wingbats are claiming, but I'm trying to be generous.

In the past a comment like that calling people racist would have gotten a ton of downdings, but for some reason this comment got 2 up dings. Things that make you go hmmm...

re: #44 Bloodnok

That's great traveling music, but I've always wanted to ask him... or else what??

re: #31 wrenchwench

Could be wafting over from the link to Blair. Spiny Norman is doing a remote flounce over there.

Oh well. I see the open thread down-dinging legend Artki is also freaking out there.

re: #46 tradewind

(you're going to detention, no use in trying to talk your way out).
:)

I'm goin' to the house of detention!

Can someone point me to a link that states what the Metro's daily capacity is?
The only one I've found has total ridership in 2008 averaged to 727,684, but I'm assuming that includes not onl;y DC but the entire sysytem (not only DC proper but also sububrs Metro servis=ces in Virginia and Maryland)

[Link: wapedia.mobi...]

When did truth stop being a conservative value?

re: #54 Thanos

When did truth stop being a conservative value?

When it stopped serving partisan hacks posing as conservatives.

Now I'm paranoid: I picked up some stomach flu and called for a doctor appointment. They listened to my symptoms, put me on hold and then gave me an appointment early tomorrow morning. I wonder if I just got lucky and there was an opening or if I got something really nasty.

re: #51 Charles

Oh well. I see the open thread down-dinging legend Artki is also freaking out there.

I thought that looked familiar. Hard to keep 'em all straight.

I had a class in philosophy in high school (public school, no less) in which we learned that the "philosophical attitude" is: Oh well.

Biased statistics 101:
Find an aerial view of a crowd. Then find the most dense portion of that crowd and draw a square around it. Count every head within the square. Now here's the trick - despite how sparse the rest of the crowd may be, just make a large square over the shapeless mass of people and find how many of your small squares fit within the large square. Multiply it out and before you know it you'll have convinced yourself that you used "math" and "science" to determine how many people were actually at your event.

re: #49 JohnnyReb

In the past a comment like that calling people racist would have gotten a ton of downdings, but for some reason this comment got 2 up dings. Things that make you go hmmm...

I gots updingz? I wonder why? Maybe it's because some prominent wingbats were writing about their terror of black kids on the Metro and imagining what it would be like to take them on?

Nah, couldn't be that. It's imaginary racism on my part, projected onto innocent right-wingers.

Nice try, Dixie Boy.

re: #56 Killgore Trout

Now I'm paranoid: I picked up some stomach flu and called for a doctor appointment. They listened to my symptoms, put me on hold and then gave me an appointment early tomorrow morning. I wonder if I just got lucky and there was an opening or if I got something really nasty.

Did you oink?

re: #56 Killgore Trout

Don't worry. Apparently they think you'll live at least until tomorrow afternoon.

re: #56 Killgore Trout

Now I'm paranoid: I picked up some stomach flu and called for a doctor appointment. They listened to my symptoms, put me on hold and then gave me an appointment early tomorrow morning. I wonder if I just got lucky and there was an opening or if I got something really nasty.

You told them you are a lizard, didnjya!?

re: #58 Spare O'Lake

Now you're just starting to piss me off.

See the update above -- the numbers may be even lower than we previously thought.

The National Black Family Reunion was also held September 12 and 13 in Washington DC, and was expected to draw about 200,000 people.

re: #56 Killgore Trout

Now I'm paranoid: I picked up some stomach flu and called for a doctor appointment. They listened to my symptoms, put me on hold and then gave me an appointment early tomorrow morning. I wonder if I just got lucky and there was an opening or if I got something really nasty.

Flu-like symptoms are getting triaged to the front of the line, in order to keep tabs on swine flu.

re: #56 Killgore Trout

Now I'm paranoid: I picked up some stomach flu and called for a doctor appointment. They listened to my symptoms, put me on hold and then gave me an appointment early tomorrow morning. I wonder if I just got lucky and there was an opening or if I got something really nasty.

That was the first symptom of the flu for me, if it is the H1n1 flu it should be over fast, but be prepped to visit the bathroom a lot over the new few hours.

re: #56 Killgore Trout

OT: At the Blair link above, one of the commenters links to .pdfs of your exploits at HotAir.

re: #52 Spare O'Lake

Such a timely song, on so many levels.
' I got the Presidential Seal...' up on the Presidential Podium'
Image: B7671B49-3048-7D2A-C252ABE5821E5175.jpg
' Who do... who do you think you're fooling'.

re: #68 wrenchwench

Oh, joy.
/

re: #54 Thanos

When they decided to take a page from the progressive playbook.
A shame.

re: #65 Charles

See the update above -- the numbers may be even lower than we previously thought.

The National Black Family Reunion was also held September 12 and 13 in Washington DC, and was expected to draw about 200,000 people.

I've seen a couple of rightward sites mention the NBFR. Not surprisingly, they estimate it at an order of magnitude less than anyone else - around 20k.

re: #56 Killgore Trout

Stomach flu is a misnomer. There's a zillion types of gastroenteritis/intestinal bugs you can get, but none of them are influenza.
Hope you feel better soon.

re: #60 Cato the Elder

Hi Cato, I tried a kind of reply to your question on the previous thread. Not entirely on topic, but well ...
Here it is.

re: #57 wrenchwench

I thought that looked familiar. Hard to keep 'em all straight.

I had a class in philosophy in high school (public school, no less) in which we learned that the "philosophical attitude" is: Oh well.

That was the basis of Kurt Vonnegut's world-view. God I loved that man. (Go ahead, Deucers: more proof that I'm gay.)

Another way he had of summing it all up was: "So it goes."

But that takes an extra word.

OT, from The Onion:

[Link: www.theonion.com...]

Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly:

LGF and PowerLine's falling out speaks to a larger schism among conservatives -- those who are sane are being shunned.

John Cole at Balloon Juice:

It Isn’t An Ideology, Charles

It is a cult. Consider yourself lucky. You made it out alive.

re: #66 SixDegrees

Down here they're not even blood testing for H1N1 anymore, or sorting it... it's all going into the influenza category. They were testing and sending off blood samples, but quit doing it... too many cases. My nephew came home from college with it... he was sick a week, fine now.

Good night! Take care!

re: #69 tradewind

Such a timely song, on so many levels.
' I got the Presidential Seal...' up on the Presidential Podium'
[Link: www.examiner.com...]
' Who do... who do you think you're fooling'.

That it is...and it was an accidental pick - I actually meant to link Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard. because of the "detention" crack.

re: #80 Spare O'Lake

Yeah, I was scratching my head over that one. But it still ended up working.
That whole ' Going to Graceland' collection is just so good.

As some other commentators have noted, I'd be hesitant to rely on Metro stats alone. We'll never know the real number of protesters, but between 75k-125k seems reasonable.

re: #75 Cato the Elder

Or, if you're Faulkner, quite a few more:

"And Grandfather saw the eyes in the gaunt face, the eyes desperate and hopeless but indomitable too, invincible too, not beaten yet by a damn sight Grandfather said, and all that fifty-odd hours of dark and swamp and sleeplessness and fatigue and no grub and nowhere to go and no hope of getting there: just a will to endure and a foreknowing of defeat but not beat yet by a damn sight: and he took the bottle in one of his little dirty coon-like hands and raised the other hand and even fumbled about his head for a second before he remembered that the hat was gone, then flung the hand up in a gesture that Grandfather said you simply could not describe, that seemed to gather all misfortune and defeat that the human race ever suffered into a little pinch in his fingers like dust and fling it backward over his head, and raised the bottle and bowed first to Grandfather then to all the other men sitting their horses in a circle and looking at him, and then he took not only the first drink of neat whiskey he ever took in his life but the drink of it that he could no more have conceived himself taking than the Brahmin can believe that that situation can conceivably arise in which he will eat dog."

Damn! Did Quentin ever take a breath?

In a country of about 300,000,000 all these attendances are small.

re: #77 Charles

That second comment on the BJ thread is so lame. I don't remember a time ( and I have been here for years) that Charles ever ' spewed venom 24/7 '. Or at all.

re: #82 RealismRox

As some other commentators have noted, I'd be hesitant to rely on Metro stats alone. We'll never know the real number of protesters, but between 75k-125k seems reasonable.

That depends: If there's buttloads of public parking there, then metro ridership becomes less of an indicator. If there's not a lot of public parking and everyone has to commute in from park and ride spots, then it's a pretty good indicator. I don't know DC, anyone care to comment on availability of parking in the area of the demo?

re: #56 Killgore Trout

Or, your Dr. had a cancellation? Or, they're not busy because people aren't spending money? Feel better, soon.

re: #85 tradewind

That second comment on the BJ thread is so lame. I don't remember a time ( and I have been here for years) that Charles ever ' spewed venom 24/7 '. Or at all.

THere are several like that, "anti-Arab," "racist," etc. Makes you want to ask 'em for a link...

re: #87 Floral Giraffe

Yeah, probably just a last minute cancellation.

re: #88 wrenchwench

Going down those comments on that thread just reconfirms my belief that the moonbats still flourish and howl.
What a sucky bunch.

re: #88 wrenchwench

Their comments really are just full of LGF bashing. Lots of hate out there these days.

re: #90 johnnygriswold

I think we get the point. The numbers are inflated.

Who is "we"? Have a mouse in your pocket?

re: #87 Floral Giraffe

Or, your Dr. had a cancellation? Or, they're not busy because people aren't spending money? Feel better, soon.

Oh, where are my manners?

I hope you feel better soon, Killgore. Sorry if my last post to you made you feel worse!

re: #90 johnnygriswold

I think we get the point. The numbers are inflated.

So is your Karma. Want some help with it?//

re: #90 johnnygriswold

I think we get the point. The numbers are inflated.

Would you be kind enough, then, to let our supposed colleagues and supporters know it, because they seem to think otherwise. Heard Rush in some spot or other in the radio today, talking about the 2 million figure.

re: #94 wrenchwench

Heh, no problem. I'm feeling crummy enough to not do anything productive so it's kinda like a little vacation.

probably from some weird fish you ate...ragardless, I hope you feel better tomarrow KT

re: #96 Guanxi88

Would you be kind enough, then, to let our supposed colleagues and supporters know it, because they seem to think otherwise. Heard Rush in some spot or other in the radio today, talking about the 2 million figure.

He was being sarcastic.

/

The nativist lobby is killing the Republican party right before everyone's eyes the past four years

re: #98 albusteve

Thanks, how you doing?

re: #97 Killgore Trout

Heh, no problem. I'm feeling crummy enough to not do anything productive so it's kinda like a little vacation.

Go stand next to a Ronulan, in case you have to hurl.

re: #100 Thanos

Then why do more people report agreeing with them than Democrats now, when the reverse has been true for the past few years? Their numbers are up.

re: #103 SixDegrees

Go stand next to a Ronulan, in case you have to hurl.

Covers the smell. Of both.

Well, eexcuuusee me for responding to an attack post by Tim Blair.

Comments complaining about the topic are going to be deleted.

Damn, stinky is faster than a speeding bullet. Who flounced? Or face planted, as the case may be...

re: #101 Killgore Trout

Thanks, how you doing?

limping around a bit more...slow goin

re: #106 Spare O'Lake

With that, you're getting a timeout.

Two points:

1. As I've said before, this obsessive pursuit of higher numbers make me wonder what prize is handed out when a protest gets to 500,000? 1,000,000? A kajillion?

2. With all of the signs entered into evidence that are blatantly racist, advocate violence, or are just gormless, it makes me wonder why the right-wing blogsphere wants to identify so strongly with this single event. (I know, they don't get the same idea looking at these signs - more the problem.)

LOL, first time I've seen that. "This user is having a timeout."

re: #104 tradewind

Then why do more people report agreeing with them than Democrats now, when the reverse has been true for the past few years? Their numbers are up.

Their numbers aren't up, they are just noisy, and as Charles notes, they tend to inflate their numbers. If the only thing happening in the Republican party is the Tea Parties, who do you think is going to get the attention? There's a leadership vacuum, and I for one hope that the adults come back from vacation soon.

re: #112 Danny

It's like an Amish shunning!
///

re: #112 Danny

LOL, first time I've seen that. "This user is having a timeout."

A relatively new feature that Charles added after IF flounced...

OT - This is what cool people do with their spare time.

Damn, is that sweet. Take your own pictures from 17 miles up with off-the-shelf parts for a hundred and fifty bucks.

re: #115 talon_262

It's a 24-hour temp ban.

re: #116 SixDegrees

OT - This is what cool people do with their spare time.

Damn, is that sweet. Take your own pictures from 17 miles up with off-the-shelf parts for a hundred and fifty bucks.

Saw that this morning. The time lapse video is pretty fun to watch too.

re: #77 Charles

From the first link:

* And finally, "Kids in the Hall" saw Glenn Beck coming years ago.

I laughed.

re: #116 SixDegrees

OT - This is what cool people do with their spare time.

Damn, is that sweet. Take your own pictures from 17 miles up with off-the-shelf parts for a hundred and fifty bucks.

There were some folk up in Canada, I think it was, who used a variation on the idea to take a glider up to that altitude, snap some photos, and then have the thing return via GPS navigation, to a convenient retrieval location. Pretty amazing, the hobbies some folk have.

re: #92 Killgore Trout

Their comments really are just full of LGF bashing. Lots of hate out there these days.

Just goes to show. What we're seeing is in fact a cult like reaction against Charles and LGF. At times it almost seem orchestrated but they typically follow the same narrow path of internet links.

It's a perfect example of the litmus test at work. In this case the "right-wing" blogs have adjusted to the new litmus test around the Tea Party mentality, Robert Stacy McCain and other Neo-Confederates, The New Southern Strategy, Obama Derangement, VDARE, etc.

At some point I don't think it's even accurate to call them conservative blogs. The more accurate term might be far-right blogs. Regardless, these people aren't conservative but represent a sort of musclehead reactionary type of ideology that follows the blogging of a few select bloggers along with TV or radio personalities.

re: #113 Thanos

No, I am talking about national polls that reflect the public's approval or disapproval of R vs D. For the first time in years, more people self-identify with the Republican party. This wasn't some RealClearPolitics poll. One example: from this week...
[Link: www.rasmussenreports.com...]

re: #17 Charles

Why does it smell so flouncy in here?

Charles the whole blog has reeked of flounce for weeks. The rest of us can hardly hear each other talk through the rustle of lace petticoats.

re: #119 wrenchwench

From the first link:

I laughed.

I always though of him as more like Ed, who was sick of the Swiss:

re: #125 Hoffmonster

And another flounce.

Well, Charles' sniffer was certainly up to snuff.

re: #121 Gus 802

It's a perfect example of the litmus test at work. In this case the "right-wing" blogs have adjusted to the new litmus test around the Tea Party mentality, Robert Stacy McCain and other Neo-Confederates, The New Southern Strategy, Obama Derangement, VDARE, etc.

Good point. Very little (if any) of the criticism directed at Charles and LGF has anything to do with conservatism. It's all about peripheral issues or just simply that LGF isn't doing wall to wall coverage of ACORN.

re: #122 tradewind

If you are trying to say that Obama's failures are because of the Tea Parties, that doesn't jive. Most Americans are center right, they are not hard cons however. It's to be expected that people would shift R after what they've seen so far. It should however be more than what you see in the polls with unemployment this high. When and if the economy improves those numbers will shift again I hate to say.

re: #56 Killgore Trout

Now I'm paranoid: I picked up some stomach flu and called for a doctor appointment. They listened to my symptoms, put me on hold and then gave me an appointment early tomorrow morning. I wonder if I just got lucky and there was an opening or if I got something really nasty.

Oh jeez. Trout-flu.

#People at the Protest = #Jobs created or saved by the stimulus

Have at it.

Flounce-a-ganza!

re: #56 Killgore Trout

Now I'm paranoid: I picked up some stomach flu and called for a doctor appointment. They listened to my symptoms, put me on hold and then gave me an appointment early tomorrow morning. I wonder if I just got lucky and there was an opening or if I got something really nasty.

Best wishes, and keep your chin up.

Hasta mañana, lagartos. Time to go smoke some jalapeños.

re: #131 Pianobuff

#People at the Protest = #nutJobs created or saved by the stimulus

Have at it.

FTFY

re: #134 wrenchwench

Hasta mañana, lagartos. Time to go smoke some jalapeños.

How do you keep them lit?

LOL. Joking about detention, and somebody actually gets it. The joker, no less.

It's a tough class, and the final exam's a bitch.

re: #136 Guanxi88

How do you keep them lit?

Very carefully...

Anyone know what parking is like near the National Mall?

re: #65 Charles

See the update above -- the numbers may be even lower than we previously thought.

The National Black Family Reunion was also held September 12 and 13 in Washington DC, and was expected to draw about 200,000 people.

What do you do at a National Black Family Reunion? I envision people playing African American Geography until they find a cousin, and then being awarded t-shirts.

I suppose I could look it up or something, but I sort of like the t-shirt image.

I surrender.

re: #138 talon_262

Very carefully...

I think the trick is to just sorta play the flame lightly over them, to char them first. Of course, I'm sure that they'd have to be smoked in a pipe, as no paper could possibly not get ruined by them.

You know...they had a pretty large crowd. I don't understand what they're complaining about.

re: #139 Thanos

Anyone know what parking is like near the National Mall?

Wilbur Mills found out it wasn't as good as he thought.

re: #65 Charles

See the update above -- the numbers may be even lower than we previously thought.

The National Black Family Reunion was also held September 12 and 13 in Washington DC, and was expected to draw about 200,000 people.

OK, now I've clicked. That sounds like a fun event.

re: #128 Killgore Trout

Good point. Very little (if any) of the criticism directed at Charles and LGF has anything to do with conservatism. It's all about peripheral issues or just simply that LGF isn't doing wall to wall coverage of ACORN.

Ironically It's because we don't follow in lock-step with the status quo. Apparently they think everyone has to draw the same conclusion on all issues. Don't toe the line and sooner or later you will be shunned. The same with calling out some of the more despicable members of their cult.

OT: Fox was just talking about the FBI investigation of the CIA interrogators, which is, of course, a disgrace.

What no on is talking about is the gutlessness of Shrub in his final days, in not pardonning these folks, as he should have pardonned Scooter Libby. Someday, Shrub is going to have to face the music on these.

re: #144 pre-Boomer Marine brat

Wilbur Mills found out it wasn't as good as he thought.

*grin*
Sorry, Thanos -- compulsion got the best (or worst) of me

re: #139 Thanos

Anyone know what parking is like near the National Mall?

very sparse...you can park here and there along the streets but you have to get a spot very early in the morning...there are plenty ramps within a couple of blocks of the mall but they are way expensive

re: #147 MikeySDCA

OT: Fox was just talking about the FBI investigation of the CIA interrogators, which is, of course, a disgrace.

What no on is talking about is the gutlessness of Shrub in his final days, in not pardonning these folks, as he should have pardonned Scooter Libby. Someday, Shrub is going to have to face the music on these.

Which folks aside from Libby are you referring to? Were these people already found guilty of something in the court system. Need more info.

re: #139 Thanos

Anyone know what parking is like near the National Mall?

Yes. What do you need to do?

Darn I missed the flounce messages. That's what I get for working.

I can't help but notice seeing Jim Treacher's name at the head of these comments such as the one at BIGNESS ENSMALLENED.

re: #129 Thanos

Scratching my head at that one...tea parties? Huh?

re: #152 Ojoe

Darn I missed the flounce messages. That's what I get for working.

Better off. You wouldn't want to become a flounceaholic.

re: #116 SixDegrees

OT - This is what cool people do with their spare time.

Damn, is that sweet. Take your own pictures from 17 miles up with off-the-shelf parts for a hundred and fifty bucks.

Wow, thanks for that link. If NASA did that, they'd spend a lot more for hi tech stuff, not a cell phone, camera and a hand warmer.

re: #151 Truck Monkey

Yes. What do you need to do?

Upthread someone was speculating that metro ridership isn't a good indicator, but if there's only sparse parking near the nat'l mall it's a good indicator.

re: #145 SanFranciscoZionist

Yes it looks like a fun time, I looked at some of the photos.

re: #152 Ojoe

Darn I missed the flounce messages. That's what I get for working.

Last one was just another dumbass claiming Charles deletes and bans anyone who disagrees with him. You didn't miss much.

In California, everyone drives. We have a subway. They spent $2.2 billion dollars to build 2.2 miles that nobody rides.

re: #147 MikeySDCA

Don't go channeling Molly Ivins, it's most unbecoming.

re: #159 ArchangelMichael

OK good.

re: #154 tradewind

From what I've seen the tea party organizers are just the nativist lobbies within the Republican party rebranded. Paleocons, Fringers, Socons, all now suddenly with the Fiscon religion...

re: #157 Thanos

I have been to the National Mall 20-30 times. Have never taken the Metro in.

Yeesh. Just got through reading some of those comments at Balloon Juice.

If anyone can find a single post I've ever written that qualifies as blatant anti-Muslim bigotry, please let me know. I don't feel that way toward "all Muslims," and I never have, and if I wrote something that gave someone that impression I'd love to know what it was.

I've criticized radicals, definitely. But I'm at a loss to understand where this other crap comes from.

re: #164 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

I have been to the National Mall 20-30 times. Have never taken the Metro in.

How'd you get there, did you park nearby?

Interesting piece over at Volokh asking Would Defunding ACORN Be an Unconstitutional Bill of Attainder?

Hopefully it's ok to link there. I've found some really good stuff there over time.

re: #163 Thanos

Cute names, but my post had nothing to do with tea parties. Actually, I usually vote mostly Republican, (we split tickets here) and I don't know anyone who even went to a tea party.

re: #157 Thanos

Upthread someone was speculating that metro ridership isn't a good indicator, but if there's only sparse parking near the nat'l mall it's a good indicator.

Oh sorry. I know that there were a lot of private busses that brought folks in to the mall. I doubt that it could have accounted for 10's of thousands of people though. I doubt that people would have been able to drive down there and expect to park. I was down there for Reagans lying in state at the Capital, and parking was damn near impossible for that.

This'd be a cool way to travel to the mall...

What a couple'a billion will buy a private citizen.

re: #167 Pianobuff

You know, the two votes to defun ACORN are really false flags, because there are about four more steps that will have to be taken in Congress to actually stop the sumbitches . I'm not holding my breath that they go that far.

Is it just me or does the Google art today look like a puddle of cat puke?

Wow! I was going through the Emmy Red Carpet slideshow at Yahoo when I found this picture. So- I started reading the comments. I hope yahoo has monitors on this, because there are death threats to the President- from a frickin' tacky evening gown.

re: #166 Thanos

Parked right there and walked in.

New Gallup poll on Obama's performance, (leadership and the rest) Pretty much a party line split as you'd expect.

poll.

re: #164 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

I have been to the National Mall 20-30 times. Have never taken the Metro in.

It's one of the absolute best subways ever built by man. It might even be better than the London Tube with the exception that it was more of a star pattern than a circular pattern. In London, you can go anywhere you want, even when you drunkenly miss your stop. In DC, you always end up at the Pentagon.

/PIMF, defund/

re: #168 tradewind

Then why'd you jump in to defend the nativists when I slammed them? Rasmussen has the R identification up, and we actually outraised the D's the past two months in donations, but those are temporary.

re: #164 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Really? I never drive. I didn't drive when I lived in Baltimore. Parking is stinky there. Hi, btw.

re: #163 Thanos

From what I've seen the tea party organizers are just the nativist lobbies within the Republican party rebranded. Paleocons, Fringers, Socons, all now suddenly with the Fiscon religion...

I'd be curious how many registered Libertarians are in the organizing ranks also.

re: #116 SixDegrees

Teddy bears in space

re: #165 Charles

"When the legend becomes fact? Print the legend."
-The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

re: #165 Charles

I can't recall anything, and I believe I would have picked up on anything like that. (That's very unscientific, relying upon sheer intuition ... and a well-developed "nose".)

re: #175 avanti

It's not the party line, it's the independents who are falling away in droves.

re: #179 ArmyWife

Really? I never drive. I didn't drive when I lived in Baltimore. Parking is stinky there. Hi, btw.

True dat.

re: #181 Ojoe

Teddy bears in space

No, it's not a weather balloon, it's a UFO.

/:-)

re: #172 Danny

Is it just me or does the Google art today look like a puddle of cat puke?

Clean your screen.

re: #175 avanti

New Gallup poll on Obama's performance, (leadership and the rest) Pretty much a party line split as you'd expect.

poll.

The ranking from the attributes from top to bottom is interesting. I guess kind of predictable too, but interesting still.

re: #179 ArmyWife

Really? I never drive. I didn't drive when I lived in Baltimore. Parking is stinky there. Hi, btw.

I didn't say I was smart.

"Hi" back atcha!

re: #181 Ojoe

Teddy bears in space

There will always be an England.

re: #178 Thanos

I don't know what planet you're posting from. You said the Republican party was getting killed by the nativists, ...however you define them.
Without referencing any group, I simply pointed out that Republican numbers are up.
Done with this.

re: #175 avanti

re: #184 tradewind

It's not the party line, it's the independents who are falling away in droves.

Avanti, whistling past the dwindling numbers since January 20th!

/

re: #180 Pianobuff

I'd be curious how many registered Libertarians are in the organizing ranks also.

Well we know some of the organizers are also Constitution party.

The party's official name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999; however, some state affiliate parties are known under different names. The party's goal as stated in its own words is "to restore our government to its Constitutional limits and our law to its Biblical foundations." [2] The party puts a large focus on immigration, calling for stricter penalties towards illegal immigrants and a moratorium on legal immigration until all federal subsidies to immigrants are discontinued.[3] The party absorbed the American Independent Party, originally founded for George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign. The American Independent Party of California was an affiliate of the Constitution Party since its founding, but disaffiliated itself after the 2008 Constitution Party Convention to support Alan Keyes and his America's Independent Party. The Constitution Party's affiliate in California now bears the name of California Constitution Party.

re: #193 Thanos

Sound like nice folk. Too bad they're here, and not off ruining some other country.

re: #193 Thanos

Do you know if the platforms that much different between the two? It's not something I've studied that closely.

re: #187 Guanxi88

Clean your screen.

I did a Hausdorff image comparison with KaaM (don't ask me to splain this) and they're pretty close.

Image: hdiff.jpg

OT:

While I was waiting for my friend George at the emergency room Saturday evening (4 hours 15 minutes), the police actually brought in a handcuffed drunken white guy with no shirt on. Just like on "Cops". It made the whole thing worthwhile...

re: #173 Sharmuta

Wow! I was going through the Emmy Red Carpet slideshow at Yahoo when I found this picture. So- I started reading the comments. I hope yahoo has monitors on this, because there are death threats to the President- from a frickin' tacky evening gown.

Similar stuff on YouTube and other megauser sites. Just a bunch of idiots with time on their hands. You can hit the report button and it may eventually get deleted.

re: #173 Sharmuta

You must have a high tolerance for pain... those comments are on average, at about a second grade literacy level. First time I've ever gone there, and certainly will be the last.
Now I understand why every intelligent tv show/series I've ever liked gets cancelled in favor of crap like ' I'm a Celebrity Get Me Outta Here'.

re: #192 sattv4u2

2010 will be an interesting referendum.

re: #200 tradewind

2010 will be an interesting referendum.

The year we make contact.

Almost 2000 comments about the Obama dress, and plenty of the standard far-right talking points. I reported the death wish twice- I hope Yahoo removes it.

re: #200 tradewind

2010 will be an interesting referendum.

It won't matter. The world ends in 2012, according to the Mayan calendar.

I plan not to get worked up about anything between now and then...

re: #195 Pianobuff

Do you know if the platforms that much different between the two? It's not something I've studied that closely.

The PaleoLibs and the constitution party seem pretty similar, here's some noteworthy info from the Wiki page:

Minuteman Project co-founder Jim Gilchrist ran for Congress with the American Independent Party in 2005, but has since rejoined the Republicans.[13]

Author and WorldNetDaily columnist Jerome Corsi launched a brief campaign for the 2008 nomination but in July 2007 decided to return to writing.[14] Former Reagan Administration official and Christian activist Alan Keyes had actively sought the Constitution nod after ending a bid for the GOP nomination.[15]

The party has also attracted notables in the anti-abortion movement such as Dr. Gregory Thompson,[16] Lon Mabon,[17] Paul deParrie, and Missionaries to the Preborn leader Pastor Matthew Trewhella.[18] However, many such notables were involved in the below-mentioned disaffiliation efforts over abortion, and it remains unclear on what effect the movement has upon the current reorganized rump affiliates.

A 2008 candidate for the Republican nomination, Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas), endorsed several third party candidates shortly after bowing out of the race. Ultimately, he would go on to endorse 2008 Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin.[19] The unaffiliated Constitution Party of Montana replaced Baldwin with Paul for president and Michael Peroutka for vice president. Paul requested that Montana remove his name from the ballot, but the Secretary of State of Montana denied his request, stating that the request was sent too late.[20]

re: #203 Cato the Elder

It won't matter. The world ends in 2012, according to the Mayan calendar.

I plan not to get worked up about anything between now and then...

I dunno if others have noticed, but my OfficeMax calendar ends December 31, 2009. Creepy.

re: #197 Cato the Elder

Why the need to describe his ethnicity? Why not just a drunken guy?

re: #206 tradewind

Why the need to describe his ethnicity? Why not just a drunken guy?

Because I felt like it. And I was waiting for you or JohnnyReb to win my bet for me.

re: #196 gregb

Ha, pretty funny.

...as a touring musician with Al Jarreau, Stanley Clarke and George Duke, I played in front of many very large audiences.

Speaking of which, when are you gonna post some vids of you performing? Or did I just miss them?

re: #206 tradewind

Why the need to describe his ethnicity? Why not just a drunken guy?

Because one of the tropes on Cops is the drunken white guy without a shirt. Seems they can't go into a trailer park without finding some ne'er-do-well without a shirt but with a warrant. Invariably, this guy is a caucasian.

Why this should be, I don't know; but it is frequent enough to become a social archetype.

This is actually pretty funny.

When asked if racism is to blame for harsh rhetoric, Obama says, "It's important to realize that I was actually black before the election."

re: #205 Guanxi88

I dunno if others have noticed, but my OfficeMax calendar ends December 31, 2009. Creepy.

Both of my wall calendars begin with January 1 of this year.
Does that mean that the New Earth Creationists are wrong?

re: #203 Cato the Elder

That still leaves you two whole years for snarfing down vinho verde and partying large. You should have a plan.

re: #207 Cato the Elder

Oh, and because most of the shirtless drunks parading around on "Cops" - at least the ones I remember - were white. Sosume.

re: #210 Guanxi88

Oh. You must not watch when they feature Memphis, Atlanta, or Birmingham.

re: #210 Guanxi88

BTW, are you guys getting any of this rain down there?

/too lazy to go to the Dallas Morning News website

Omaba on Letterman tonight, has a good line about the comments by Carter about racism. When asked, he said, "First of all, it's important to remember I was black before the election" To me, that say in one funny comment, that there may be racism, but it's certainly not overwhelming.

re: #207 Cato the Elder

/As if/
It's okay to mention that he's white. Just don't go there if he's not.

re: #207 Cato the Elder

Because I felt like it. And I was waiting for you or JohnnyReb to win my bet for me.

Uh-oh. I started something, didn't I?

re: #217 avanti

Omaba on Letterman tonight, has a good line about the comments by Carter about racism. When asked, he said, "First of all, it's important to remember I was black before the election" To me, that say in one funny comment, that there may be racism, but it's certainly not overwhelming.

Letterman. Shudder.

re: #197 Cato the Elder

This may be nationwide, but where I live, the police try not to take you into custody until you are finished with the ER (if you have to go)...

IIRC, if you're in custody, the municipality has to pay the medical bill, if you are not, you have to pay it.

It's been a while though...

re: #215 tradewind

Oh. You must not watch when they feature Memphis, Atlanta, or Birmingham.

No, I see those as well, but you must admit, the shirtless white guy, usually drunk, is a common character in the series.

Do you fear that you are somehow impugned by the observation that certain shirtless drunken White folk tend to be seen as shirtless drunken White folk, or is there some other point to your otherwise pointless objection?

re: #216 pre-Boomer Marine brat

BTW, are you guys getting any of this rain down there?

/too lazy to go to the Dallas Morning News website

Nope, just the humidity.

re: #223 Guanxi88

Nope, just the humidity.

Ugh!

re: #218 tradewind

/As if/
It's okay to mention that he's white. Just don't go there if he's not.

the mayor of ABQ shut down the Cops show out here...wall to wall Hispanics getting busted and he thought it was a bad image...so I heard anyway

re: #213 tradewind

That still leaves you two whole years for snarfing down vinho verde and partying large. You should have a plan.

I do. It includes blackmail.

I put my post snarking on Louis Vuitton bags on my Facebook page. One of my friends wrote in response:

I find them too heavy. Otherwise, I'd love to spend $3k on a purse with pastel-rainbow colored initials all over it.

I wrote back:

Does your fiancé know this, Angela? If not, you might want to bribe me not to show him that post.

A case of vinho verde, and my lips are sealed! ;^)

She hasn't responded yet, so I prodded her a few minutes ago:

A., you have one day to send me shipping confirmation for that case of wine. Otherwise I blow the whistle! ;^)

So the snarfing part shouldn't be a problem.

re: #220 debutaunt

Letterman. Shudder.

Yep, Letterman is a card carrying liberal, I won't dispute that.

re: #218 tradewind

/As if/
It's okay to mention that he's white. Just don't go there if he's not.

I would have gone there.

re: #228 Cato the Elder

I would have gone there.

I think the problem is that you took the opportunity to make an observation of an incident that did nothing to reinforce certain other expectations of the one who has decided to object, and so...

re: #227 avanti

Yep, Letterman is a card carrying liberal, I won't dispute that.

So you DO have cards. I KNEW it!
/

re: #221 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

This may be nationwide, but where I live, the police try not to take you into custody until you are finished with the ER (if you have to go)...

IIRC, if you're in custody, the municipality has to pay the medical bill, if you are not, you have to pay it.

It's been a while though...

If you're in custody, and claim injury, the cops have to take you or face massive liability should something go wrong.

And how can they not take you into custody (or at least handcuff you) and expect to find you later? I'm confused...

re: #147 MikeySDCA

OT: Fox was just talking about the FBI investigation of the CIA interrogators, which is, of course, a disgrace.

I'm not so convinced of that.

Much of what we know about over-the-line interrogations is because FBI agents -- professional investigators and interrogators, with experience in counter-terrorism -- were repulsed by what they saw at Guantanamo. CIA agents (or more often, civilian contractors to the CIA) broke up the FBI interrogations and took over, using methods the FBI agents considered criminal.

It was FBI agents who complained to their director and to the Justice Dept. It was leaks of those complaints that brought the whole question into public awareness. This is not something that any president or presidential appointee (past or present) instigated.

Are you really going to make a knee-jerk assumption that the FBI are ignorant, incompetent, or wussy, that they should automatically defer to people whose training and expertise are in something else?

re: #227 avanti

Yep, Letterman is a card carrying liberal, I won't dispute that.

He flipped my friend off years ago after my friend lost control of his car on some black ice and almost ran him over.

[Link: www.xent.com...]
The Fool: Have you had a brush with fame, the proverbial '15
minutes'? Tell us about it. IFindKarma: One winter day just after I
had gotten my driver's license, I was driving icy Ridgefield Road past
a jogger. As I passed him I noticed he was David Letterman, just as I
hit an ice patch and skidded out of control. Through some combination
of luck and divine intervention, I didn't hit him, and skidded
roadside just behind him. He didn't stop jogging, he just looked back
and gave me the finger as he continued on his way. Now that I think
about it, *that* was my greatest personal success.

re: #230 Pianobuff

So you DO have cards. I KNEW it!
/

Mine is Platinum.

re: #227 avanti

Yep, Letterman is a card carrying liberal, I won't dispute that.

if that's not bad enough, he is also a world class asshole...BO has no sense of propriety

re: #165 Charles

Yeesh. Just got through reading some of those comments at Balloon Juice.

If anyone can find a single post I've ever written that qualifies as blatant anti-Muslim bigotry, please let me know. I don't feel that way toward "all Muslims," and I never have, and if I wrote something that gave someone that impression I'd love to know what it was.

I've criticized radicals, definitely. But I'm at a loss to understand where this other crap comes from.

I think they are either confusing you with some of your past commenters, or they have uncritically swallowed some unfair criticism that they have read. For the record, for as long as I've been posting here, you have always taken a firm line against bigotry, and have always deleted any bigoted comments that were brought to your attention, regardless of how 'popular' the poster in question was.

re: #227 avanti

Yep, Letterman is a card carrying liberal, I won't dispute that.

That isn't the only thing that makes him shudder-worthy. Massive shudder.

re: #165 Charles

I've criticized radicals, definitely. But I'm at a loss to understand where this other crap comes from.

From the people who used to comment here before you started banning them.

re: #237 debutaunt

That isn't the only thing that makes him shudder-worthy. Massive shudder.

Wow, the right is still pissed off about the Palin joke.

re: #234 Cato the Elder

Mine is Platinum.

Image: black-card-cato.jpg

Have we officially devolved into an open thread?

re: #239 avanti

Wow, the right is still pissed off about the Palin joke.

Your guesses are so typical and so wrong.

re: #232 sagehen

I'm not so convinced of that.

Much of what we know about over-the-line interrogations is because FBI agents -- professional investigators and interrogators, with experience in counter-terrorism -- were repulsed by what they saw at Guantanamo. CIA agents (or more often, civilian contractors to the CIA) broke up the FBI interrogations and took over, using methods the FBI agents considered criminal.

It was FBI agents who complained to their director and to the Justice Dept. It was leaks of those complaints that brought the whole question into public awareness. This is not something that any president or presidential appointee (past or present) instigated.

Are you really going to make a knee-jerk assumption that the FBI are ignorant, incompetent, or wussy, that they should automatically defer to people whose training and expertise are in something else?

Actually, the investigation is even more constrained than that. They're looking at whether anyone - CIA, FBI or hired contractors - violated any of the rules and guidelines in place during the timeframes in question.

This seems to me to be a perfectly reasonable thing to look into, and to prosecute fully if evidence of such behavior is found.

There's no attempt to apply any post-facto rules changes, and - so far, at least - no attempt to leverage this investigation into a fishing expedition of any sort. It's certainly worthwhile keeping an eye on it's progress and watching for expansions of scope like this, but so far what they're investigating seems like something that ought to be investigated.

I'm out ... test bridge overnight, so I'll be in an out ... If I don't reply to you it's not because I'm intentionally ignoring you, it'll be the usual multitasking.

re: #173 Sharmuta

Wow! I was going through the Emmy Red Carpet slideshow at Yahoo when I found this picture. So- I started reading the comments. I hope yahoo has monitors on this, because there are death threats to the President- from a frickin' tacky evening gown.

A comment on that thread from 3 minutes ago:

BHOs not African. His name is Arabic. In 1961 African's gave their children Christian names not Arabic. He was given an Arabic name to separate him from the Africans on purpose. It's all about tribalism in Africa. BHO's family history is that of Arab slave traders - look up the origin of all 3 of his names & try to tell me I'm wrong. That's the reason he bowed to Saudi King & not Queen E

Eeesshhh...

re: #239 avanti

Wow, the right is still pissed off about the Palin joke.

I'll trump your simple minded statement with this simple minded statement...Letterman was always an asshole, long before anybody ever heard of Palin

re: #165 Charles

The crap comes from their knowing nothing of what they speak other than a word or phrase taken out of context or a blatant misquote. It's what happens when they get their opinions from a site with an anti ___ (fill in with philosophy or person of choice) agenda . Maybe Kos, DU, who knows. They didn't form their opinions from reading or following LGF.

re: #201 Guanxi88

The year we make contact.

"All these worlds are yours except Europa."

(You can't domit it. Don't even try) ;-)

re: #165 Charles

I think I can explain, not that it's a very good explanation:

I have a vague memory of visiting this site around election season 2004, reading through some comment sections, and being absolutely appalled. There's no way I could find the threads again, and I'm sure none of the offending comments came from you, but rational or not, that experience colored my perception of this place.

Whatever it once was, it isn't now. I skimmed comments on the post about the Saudis, for instance, and I didn't find the slightest hint of bigotry, just justifiable outrage over corrupt leadership. I was a bit apprehensive upon initially registering, fearing I would have to bail myself if I saw something similar to what I saw in 2004 (hazy though my memory may be), but luckily my fears were not realized.

re: #239 avanti

Wow, the right is still pissed off about the Palin joke.

That's not all of it, avanti. Letterman is an asshole, and his humor is often cruel. His treatment of the Palin family was only a part of the reason conservatives dislike him. Now, I ask that all references to Sarah Palin cease while Cato is on the boards. He has vowed not to talk about her this month and I don't want to tease him.

re: #249 Dark_Falcon

That's not all of it, avanti. Letterman is an asshole, and his humor is often cruel. His treatment of the Palin family was only a part of the reason conservatives dislike him. Now, I ask that all references to Sarah Palin cease while Cato is on the boards. He has vowed not to talk about her this month and I don't want to tease him.

Thanks, I've already slipped a couple of times. ;^)

re: #249 Dark_Falcon

That's not all of it, avanti. Letterman is an asshole, and his humor is often cruel. His treatment of the Palin family was only a part of the reason conservatives dislike him. Now, I ask that all references to Sarah Palin cease while Cato is on the boards. He has vowed not to talk about her this month and I don't want to tease him.

My main criticism of Letterman is that he could be funnier.

re: #245 albusteve

I'll trump your simple minded statement with this simple minded statement...Letterman was always an asshole, long before anybody ever heard of Palin

If your opinion was shared by the TV viewers he would not have a show. You may not like his politics, but he is a popular late night entertainer. I don't know him personally, so I have no idea if he's a asshole or not.

re: #116 SixDegrees

OT - This is what cool people do with their spare time.

Damn, is that sweet. Take your own pictures from 17 miles up with off-the-shelf parts for a hundred and fifty bucks.

Hams (Amateur Radio operators) have been doing just this type of thing for years...using 1 W transmitters on Wx ballons to transmit VIDEO even...getting reception as far away as 4-500 miles. Cool...yes. New...no.

Yes...I am a ham :) 29 years.

GG

re: #250 Cato the Elder

Thanks, I've already slipped a couple of times. ;^)

I feel your pain. :)

re: #252 avanti

If your opinion was shared by the TV viewers he would not have a show. You may not like his politics, but he is a popular late night entertainer. I don't know him personally, so I have no idea if he's a asshole or not.

I could care less who shares my opinion and I know nothing of his politics to speak of...as for popularity, people like assholes obviously

re: #255 albusteve

I could care less who shares my opinion and I know nothing of his politics to speak of...as for popularity, people like assholes obviously

hahahahahahhahhhaaa

re: #251 Jimmah

My main criticism of Letterman is that he could be funnier.

I don't know whether he actually got less funny over the years or whether it's the same stuff that's grown old. He was enjoyable when he started at late night with stupid pet tricks and throwing objects out the window, etc. Of course I was a lot younger then, which could explain some of this, too.

re: #252 avanti

I don't know him personally, so I have no idea if he's a asshole or not.

Based on what I've heard from a friend who works at NBC at Rock Center: He's an asshole.
FWIW

re: #250 Cato the Elder

Thanks, I've already slipped a couple of times. ;^)

Still, good friends help their friends keep their promises.

re: #259 Dark_Falcon

Still, good friends help their friends keep their promises.

bullshit
do it Cato!...just DO IT!
you know you want to!

re: #260 albusteve